Device for producing reinforcement cages

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a device for producing reinforcement cages having multiple longitudinal rods around which a wire, being welded to the longitudinal rods, runs, in particular for concrete tubes, wherein the device comprises a longitudinal rod guidance arrangement having multiple guidance elements and multiple radial guidances. To enable varying the shape of the cross-section of the reinforcement cage, the radial guides each comprise a spindle arrangement having at least one spindle, and at least two guidance element drives are provided which are configured to move one of the guidance elements each independently along the associated radial guidance.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is based on and claims priority to internationalapplication no. PCT/EP2017/055756 filed Mar. 10, 2017 by LotharHartenbauer for “Device for producing reinforcement cages,” which inturn is based on and claims priority to German patent application no. 102016 104 554.3 filed Mar. 11, 2016 by Lothar Hartenbauer for“Vorrichtung zur Herstellung von Bewehrungskörben.”

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to devices for producing reinforcementcages.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a device for producing reinforcementcages, in particular for concrete tubes, according to the preamble ofpatent claim 1, and to a longitudinal rod guidance arrangement accordingto patent claim 11.

In general, such devices are used to wind wire helically around multiplelongitudinal rods and to weld it to the longitudinal rods so as to formreinforcement cages. Such devices are known from German Patent Nos.DE3422420, DE2946297, DE1752908, and DE1552159. These devices include alongitudinal rod guidance arrangement having multiple guidance elementsby which the longitudinal rods are guided, a wire guidance arrangement,a longitudinal wire clamping arrangement, and a welding arrangement. Thelongitudinal rod guidance arrangement provides for the desired formationof the longitudinal rods relative to each other. The longitudinal wireclamping arrangement clamps the longitudinal rods at an end so that theymay be pulled through the longitudinal rod guidance arrangement byrelative linear translation of the longitudinal wire clampingarrangement in respect to the longitudinal rod guidance arrangement. Thelongitudinal wire clamping arrangement is provided at a clampingarrangement carriage. The relative linear translation of thelongitudinal wire clamping arrangement in respect to the longitudinalrod guidance arrangement is caused by moving the clamping arrangementcarriage. The wire guidance arrangement provides for the helicalpositioning of the wire on the longitudinal rods while these are pulledthrough the longitudinal rod guidance arrangement. The weldingarrangement welds the wires to the longitudinal rods.

In general, concrete parts can resist very well to pushing loads whileonly very poorly to pulling loads. The reinforcement cages serve forabsorbing the pulling loads which occur in the concrete parts. Concretetubes regularly include a cylindrical tube portion at one end of which asleeve extension is formed. Pulling loads usually occur laterally (leftand right) on the outside of the cylindrical tube portion and on the topand on the bottom of the inside of the cylindrical tube portion.Therefore, for the cylindrical tube portion, a reinforcement cage havingan elliptical cross-section is ideal which is disposed in the areaswhich are normally exposed to a pulling load. In the sleeve extension,the end of a connected tube is accommodated which pushes against thesleeve extension from the inside. Therefore, a pulling load occurssubstantially uniformly on the outside of the sleeve extension so thatfor the sleeve extension a round cross-section of the reinforcement cageis ideal.

The devices which are known from the prior-art documents mentioned aboveallow to produce reinforcement cages having a round or not round (inparticular elliptical) cross-section having increasing or decreasingdiameter. However, none of these devices allows to produce areinforcement cage which includes a portion having an ellipticalcross-section and a portion having a round cross-section.

From DE 23 60 531 A1 a device for producing reinforcement cages, inparticular for concrete tubes, is known which allows to produce areinforcement cage which includes a portion having an ellipticalcross-section and a portion having a round cross-section. To this end,multiple adjustment rods are translated which are hinged to the guidanceelements for the longitudinal rods of a reinforcement cage, defining theradial positions of these. The adjustment rods may be translated via afirst transmission train by means of a first hydraulic cylinder and viaa second transmission train by means of a second hydraulic cylinder. Thefirst transmission train is formed so that by actuation of the firsthydraulic cylinder the guidance elements can be translated by the sameamount while the second transmission train is formed so that byactuation of the second hydraulic cylinder the guidance elements aretranslated by different amounts each. The translations by differentamounts are provided by means of manually adjustable tappets which aremounted to the adjustment rods. The positions of the guidance elementsare not determined unambiguously at all times due to the use of tappets.The shape and size of the reinforcement cage is further stronglyrestricted by the dimensions of the elements of the first and secondtransmission trains.

The object of the present invention is to create a device for producingreinforcement cages and an associated longitudinal rod guidancearrangement which allow to vary the shape of the cross-section of thereinforcement cage.

The object of the invention is solved by a device for producingreinforcement cages having the features of the characterising portion ofpatent claim 1 and by a longitudinal rod guidance arrangement having thefeatures of the characterising portion of patent claim 11.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a device for producing reinforcementcages having multiple longitudinal rods around which a wire, beingwelded to the longitudinal rods, preferably helically, runs, inparticular for concrete tubes, wherein the device comprises alongitudinal rod guidance arrangement having multiple guidance elementsand multiple radial guidances so as to guide one of the guidanceelements each, wherein the radial guidances each comprise a spindlearrangement having at least one spindle, and wherein at least twoguidance element drives are provided which are configured to move one ofthe guidance elements each independently along the associated radialguidance. In the context of the present invention, a spindle ispreferably a threaded spindle, and a spindle arrangement is anarrangement comprising at least one spindle. The spindles are preferablymounted to the longitudinal rod guidance arrangement, more preferablyeither mounted rotatably to the longitudinal rod guidance arrangement(preferably rotatably supported in the longitudinal rod guidancearrangement) or mounted rotationally fixed to the longitudinal rodguidance arrangement. Preferably, one or more guidance columns areprovided, each of which being led through a guidance element.Preferably, the guidance element drives are each configured to hold theassociated guidance element in a position after moving. Advantageously,the position of the guidance element drives is determined exactly at alltimes. Preferably, for each guidance element a guidance element drive isprovided which is configured to move one of the guidance elements eachindependently along the associated radial guidance. The longitudinal rodguidance arrangement provides for the desired relative formation of thelongitudinal rods relative to each other. Preferably, the longitudinalrod guidance arrangement is rotatable around an axis. Preferably, theradial guidances are implemented so that the guidance elements have atleast one radial component of movement when they are guided along theassociated radial guidance. Preferably, each of the radial guidances(i.e. a path on which the associated guidance element is forced on bythe associated radial guidance) extends along a line, wherein each ofthese lines has a tangent, wherein all of these tangents are in oneplane and intersect in a point through which preferably the rotationalaxis of the longitudinal rod guidance passes, wherein the rotationalaxis is preferably perpendicular to the plane. Preferably, the lines arestraight lines or include a straight portion which is touched by theassociated tangent. Preferably, each radial guidance extends along aline, wherein preferably all lines are in a plane and intersect in onepoint through which preferably the rotational axis of the longitudinalrod guidance passes, wherein the rotational axis is preferablyperpendicular to the plane. All drives are preferably electrical drives.Preferably, the device furthermore includes a wire guidance arrangement,a longitudinal wire clamping arrangement and a welding arrangement. Thelongitudinal wire clamping arrangement clamps the longitudinal rods atan end so that they may be pulled through the longitudinal rod guidancearrangement due to a relative linear translation of the longitudinalwire clamping arrangement in respect to the longitudinal rod guidancearrangement. Preferably, the longitudinal wire clamping arrangement isrotatable around an axis which is identical to the rotational axis ofthe longitudinal rod guidance arrangement. When producing reinforcementcages, the rotations of the longitudinal rod guidance arrangement and ofthe longitudinal wire clamping arrangement are preferably synchronizedby a controller. The longitudinal wire clamping arrangement ispreferably provided on a moving arrangement, preferably on a clampingarrangement carriage. The relative linear translation of thelongitudinal wire clamping arrangement in respect to the longitudinalrod guidance arrangement is caused by moving the clamping arrangementcarriage. The wire guidance arrangement provides for the helicalpositioning of the wire on the longitudinal rods while these are pulledthrough the longitudinal rod guidance arrangement. The weldingarrangement is provided on a moving arrangement, preferably a weldingarrangement carriage. The welding arrangement welds the wires to thelongitudinal rods. The longitudinal wire clamping arrangement, the wireguidance arrangement, and the welding arrangement are substantiallyknown from the state of the art and therefore a detailed description isnot required. All of the drives and the welding arrangement arecontrolled by a controller. Detectors may be present so as to detect thepositions of all of the movable components of the device for producingreinforcement cages and to feed them back to the controller.Advantageously, the device allows to produce a reinforcement cageincluding a portion having a not round, in particular elliptical,cross-section, which is ideal for a cylindrical tube portion, and aportion having a round cross-section, which is ideal for a sleeveextension. In general, both the diameter and the shape of thereinforcement cage can be varied.

In a preferred embodiment, the guidance element drives are preferablyimplemented as spindle drives. The spindles are preferably mountedrotatably to the longitudinal rod guidance arrangement. Preferably, thespindle drives are fixed to the longitudinal rod guidance arrangement.Advantageously, this facilitates the implementation of the currentsupply for the spindle drives and allows to provide it in an outer areaof the longitudinal rod guidance arrangement where there is sufficientspace.

In a further development of the preferred embodiment, the spindle drivesare provided at an outer end of the associated (at least one) spindle,respectively. In the context of the present invention, an outer end of aspindle is the end of a spindle which faces away from the center of thelongitudinal rod guidance arrangement (through which for example arotational axis of the longitudinal rod guidance arrangement passes). Inthe context of the present invention “the spindle drive is provided atan outer end of the associated (at least one) spindle” preferably meansthat a drive element of the spindle drive which acts on the associated(at least one) spindle and by this transfers a movement to theassociated (at least one) spindle is arranged closer to the outer end ofthe associated (at least one) spindle than to the other (inner) end ofthe associated (at least one) spindle, and/or that the distance betweenthe drive element of the spindle drive and the outer end of theassociated (at least one) spindle is at most 60 cm, more preferably atmost 30 cm, more preferably at most 10 cm. Preferably, the drive elementand the outer end of the associated (at least one) spindle are connectedto each other rotationally fixed and include a shared rotational axis.Advantageously, the spindle drives can be provided in an outer area ofthe longitudinal rod guidance arrangement and in immediate proximity tocurrent supply conductors and/or signal conductors which include, forexample, one or more slip rings so that long current cables are notrequired at the longitudinal rod guidance arrangement.

In yet another preferred embodiment, each spindle passes through aspindle nut which is mounted rotationally fixed to the respectiveguidance element. In the context of the present invention, a spindle nutis always a threaded spindle nut. Preferably, for each spindle aguidance element drive is provided which is implemented as spindledrive, wherein the spindle drive is configured to drive an associatedspindle, respectively. The spindles which belong to the same guidanceelement can also include a shared spindle drive.

In a further development of the last mentioned preferred embodiment,each spindle nut is connected to the respective guidance element via arotational bearing, and for each spindle nut a guidance element drive isprovided by means of a spindle nut drive so as to drive the respectivespindle nut. The spindle nuts which belong to the same guidance elementcan also include a shared spindle nut drive. Preferably, the spindlesare provided rotationally fixed to the longitudinal rod guidancearrangement.

In yet another further development of the last mentioned preferredembodiment, the spindles are rotationally supported and a centralspindle drive is provided so as to synchronously drive the spindles.Preferably, a force transfer from the central spindle drive to a spindleoccurs via a gear, respectively.

In yet another preferred embodiment, a further spindle is provided foreach guidance element. The spindle and the further spindle which belongto the same radial guidance can include a shared spindle drive or twodifferent spindle drives.

In a further development of the last mentioned preferred embodiment,each further spindle passes through a further spindle nut which ismounted rotationally fixed to the respective guidance element.

In yet a further development of the preferred embodiment, each furtherspindle nut is connected to the respective guidance element via afurther rotational bearing, and each further spindle nut is drivable bythe spindle nut drive which is configured to additionally drive thespindle nut of the respective guidance element. In the alternative, thefurther spindle nut can be drivable by a further spindle drive.

In yet a further preferred embodiment, each spindle drive is anelectrical spindle drive and the current supply to each spindle drivecomprises one or more slip rings. The slip ring is contacted by arespective slip contact. Preferably, each current supply can comprisetwo slip rings (one slip ring for one polarity, respectively).Preferably, the current supplies for different spindle drives cancomprise one or more shared slip rings. Preferably, the slip ring runsaround the longitudinal rod guidance arrangement, and preferably therespective slip contact is provided at a frame which surrounds thelongitudinal rod guidance arrangement. Preferably, for each spindledrive at least one signal conductor for control signals is providedwhich also comprises one or more slip rings. This slip ring is contactedby a corresponding slip contact as well. Preferably, the signalconductors can comprise one or more shared slip rings for differentspindle drives. Preferably, each slip ring surrounds the longitudinalrod guidance arrangement, wherein the rotational axis of thelongitudinal rod guidance arrangement passes through the center of theslip ring. Preferably, the slip rings are provided on a frame whichsurrounds the longitudinal rod guidance arrangement.

In a yet a more general, preferred embodiment, each guidance elementdrive is an electric drive, and the current supply to each guidanceelement drive comprises one or more slip rings. The guidance elementdrive is preferably implemented either as spindle drive or as spindlenut drive. The slip ring is contacted by a corresponding slip contact.Preferably, each current supply can comprise two slip rings (one slipring for one polarity, respectively). Preferably, the current suppliesfor different drives can comprise one or more shared slip rings.Preferably, the slip ring runs around the longitudinal rod guidancearrangement, and the respective slip contact is provided at a framewhich surrounds the longitudinal rod guidance arrangement. Preferably,for each drive at least one signal conductor for control signals isprovided which also comprises one or more slip rings. This slip ring iscontacted by a corresponding slip contact as well. Preferably, thesignal conductors for different drives can comprise one or more sharedslip rings. Preferably, each slip ring surrounds the longitudinal rodguidance arrangement, wherein the rotational axis of the longitudinalrod guidance arrangement passes through the center of the slip ring.Preferably, the slip rings are provided on a frame which surrounds thelongitudinal rod guidance arrangement.

According to the invention, all embodiments, further developments andoptional features can be combined with each other in any manner, as longas this is not excluded.

The present invention further relates to a longitudinal rod guidancearrangement having multiple guidance elements and multiple radialguidances so as to guide one of the guidance elements each, for a devicefor producing reinforcement cages having multiple longitudinal rodsaround which a wire, being welded to the longitudinal rods, preferablyhelically, runs, in particular for concrete tubes, wherein the radialguidances each comprise a spindle arrangement having at least onespindle, wherein at least two guidance element drives are provided whichare configured to move one of the guidance elements each independentlyalong the associated radial guidance. The longitudinal rod guidancearrangement can include all features or feature combinations which havebeen described in context with the embodiments and further developmentsof the device for producing reinforcement cages.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying figures, which are incorporated in and form a part ofthis specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and,together with the description given above and the detailed descriptionof the preferred embodiments given below, serve to explain theprinciples of the invention. In the following, the invention isdescribed with reference to the drawings in more detail, in which:

FIG. 1A shows a perspective view of a device for producing reinforcementcages;

FIG. 1B shows a perspective detail view which illustrates thelongitudinal rod guidance arrangement;

FIG. 2A shows a front view of the longitudinal rod guidance arrangement;

FIG. 2B shows a cut view of the longitudinal rod guidance arrangementalong the A-A line from FIG. 2A;

FIG. 2C shows a back view of the longitudinal rod guidance arrangement;

FIG. 3A shows a schematic view of a first embodiment of a spindlearrangement;

FIG. 3B shows a schematic view of a second embodiment of a spindlearrangement;

FIG. 3C shows a schematic view of a third embodiment of a spindlearrangement;

FIG. 3D shows a schematic view of a fourth embodiment of a spindlearrangement;

FIG. 3E shows a schematic view of a fifth embodiment of a spindlearrangement;

FIG. 3F shows a schematic view of a sixth embodiment of a spindlearrangement; and

FIG. 3G shows a schematic view of a seventh embodiment of a spindlearrangement.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1A shows a perspective view of a device for producing reinforcementcages. FIG. 1B shows a perspective detail view which illustrates thelongitudinal rod guidance arrangement from FIG. 1B. The device forproducing reinforcement cages comprises a rotatable longitudinal rodguidance arrangement 1 and a rotatable longitudinal rod clampingarrangement 2. The longitudinal rod guidance arrangement 1 and thelongitudinal rod clamping arrangement 2 have a shared rotational axis.The longitudinal rod guidance arrangement 1 is accommodated in acylindrical frame 3. A longitudinal rod guidance arrangement drive 4 isconfigured to rotate the longitudinal rod guidance arrangement 1 aroundits rotational axis. A longitudinal rod clamping arrangement drive 5 isconfigured to rotate the longitudinal rod guidance arrangement 2 aroundits rotational axis. The longitudinal rod guidance arrangement 1 and thelongitudinal rod clamping arrangement 2 are movable relative to eachother along their shared rotational axis. The longitudinal rod clampingarrangement 2 is provided on a clamping arrangement carriage 18. Theclamping arrangement carriage 18 is movable along the shared rotationalaxis of the longitudinal rod guidance arrangement 1 and the longitudinalrod clamping arrangement 2 on an axial guidance 6 having two opposingrails 7, wherein the longitudinal rod clamping arrangement 2 is drivenby a clamping arrangement carriage drive 8. The longitudinal rodguidance arrangement 1 comprises multiple radially movable guidanceelements 9 (for illustrational purposes, here twelve guidance elementsare depicted. Actually, many more guidance elements may be present, forexample 24) which each pass through a radial slit 10 in a bezel 11 andare drivable along a radial guidance by a guidance element drive (seeFIG. 2A). A welding arrangement 12 is provided on a welding arrangementcarriage 19 which is movable transversally in respect to the sharedrotational axis on a transversal guide 20, wherein the weldingarrangement carriage 19 is driven by a welding arrangement drive 17. Awire 13 is guided by a wire guidance arrangement 14 which is provided atthe welding arrangement 12. The welding arrangement 12 comprises awelding electrode 15. A corresponding counter welding electrode 16 isimplemented on the guidance elements 9, respectively.

FIG. 2A shows a front view of the longitudinal rod guidance arrangement.FIG. 2B shows a cut view of the longitudinal rod guidance arrangement 1along the A-A line from FIG. 2A. FIG. 2C shows a rear view of thelongitudinal rod guidance arrangement 1. In FIG. 2A, FIG. 2B and FIG.2C, for clarity purposes, only one radial guidance 21 of the multipleradial guidances and one of the guidance elements 9 of the multipleguidance elements, each being in formation along one of the radial slits10 in the bezel 11 and having an associated guidance element drive 27,are shown. The radial guidances 21 and guidance elements 9 aresubstantially identical or implemented identically and are only arrangedin another manner (angularly offset). The radial guidances 21 eachinclude a rotatable spindle 23 and two guidance columns 24. Therotatable spindle 23 passes through the guidance element 9 and a spindlenut which is mounted rotationally fixed on the guidance element 9. Theguidance columns 24 also pass through the bores in the guidance element9. Each guidance element 9 includes a guidance tube 22 through which alongitudinal rod is passed, respectively. At the front end of theguidance pipe 22, a counter welding electrode 16 is provided with whicha longitudinal rod being passed through the guidance tube 22 is intouch, respectively. Laterally, adjacent to the longitudinal rodguidance arrangement 1, a longitudinal rod guidance arrangement drive 4is provided which rotates the longitudinal rod guidance arrangement 1 ina cylindrical frame 3 around its rotational axis. The longitudinal rodguidance arrangement 1 includes multiple slip rings 25 extending aroundthe longitudinal guidance arrangement 1 and being part of the currentsupply or of signal conductors of the guidance element drives 27. Theseslip rings 25 are contacted by associated slip contacts which areprovided on the cylindrical frame 3. The signal conductors and currentsupply conductors and their electrical connections to the slip rings 25,the slip contacts 26 and the guidance element drives 27 are not depictedas they are obvious for the person skilled in the art and they wouldrender the illustration confusing.

During production of reinforcement cages, longitudinal rods are passedthrough the guidance tubes 22 of the guidance elements 9 and clamped ina clamping arrangement (not shown) of the longitudinal rod clampingarrangement 2, respectively. The longitudinal rod clamping arrangement 2is then moved on the clamping arrangement carriage 18 along the sharedrotational axis of the longitudinal rod guidance arrangement 1 and ofthe longitudinal rod clamping arrangement 2. Following this, thelongitudinal rod guidance arrangement 1 and the longitudinal rodclamping arrangement 2 are turned synchronously by the same angle whichcorresponds to the angular distance between two longitudinal rods. Then,the guidance elements 9 can be moved radially. The welding arrangementcarriage 19 is moved so that it is in the suitable position for thewelding process of the welding arrangement 12. During the welding, thewelding electrode 15 pushes the wire 14 and one of the longitudinal rods(not shown) against one of the counter welding electrodes 16. Then, thewelding process is performed and the production method continues fromthe moving of the clamping arrangement carriage 18 along the sharedrotational axis of the longitudinal rod guidance arrangement 1 and ofthe longitudinal rod clamping arrangement 2, as described, until the endof the production. The longitudinal rod guidance arrangement 4, thelongitudinal rod clamping arrangement drive 5, the moving arrangementdrive 8, the welding arrangement drive 17, the welding arrangement 12,and the guidance element drives are controlled by a central controller(not shown). Current supply conductors and control conductors are notshown or not shown completely in the figures either so as to preventconfusion.

In the FIGS. 3A to 3G, different embodiments of a radial guidance areschematically shown. Elements having the same function are referenced towith the same reference numeral.

FIG. 3A shows a schematic view of a first embodiment of a radialguidance. The radial guidance comprises a spindle 23 which is mountedrotatably and passes through a spindle nut 30. The spindle 23 is drivenby a spindle drive 27. The spindle nut 30 is mounted rotatably fixed tothe guidance element 9. A respective guidance column 24 is provided ontwo opposite sides of the spindle 23. The first embodiment correspondsto the embodiment depicted in the previous figures.

FIG. 3B shows a schematic view of a second embodiment of a radialguidance. The radial guidance comprises a spindle 23 which is mountedrotatably and passes through a spindle nut 30. The spindle 23 is drivenby a central spindle drive 31 via a gear 29. Via the gear 29, at thesame time, the spindles of the further radial guidances are drivensynchronously by the central spindle drive 31. The spindle nut 30 ismounted rotatably to the guidance element 9. The spindle nut 30 isdriven by a spindle nut drive 28. This allows to move the guidanceelements 9 radially by a different amount while they are moved radiallyby the spindle drive 27 by the same amount. A respective guidance column24 is provided on two opposing sides of the spindle.

FIG. 3C shows a schematic view of a third embodiment of a third radialguidance. The radial guidance comprises a spindle 23 which is mountedrotatably fixed and passes through a spindle nut 30. The spindle nut 30is mounted rotatably to the guidance element 9. The spindle nut 30 isdriven by a spindle nut drive 28. A respective guidance column 24 isprovided on two opposite sides of the spindle.

FIG. 3D shows a schematic view of a fourth embodiment of a radialguidance. The radial guidance comprises two spindles 23 which are eachmounted rotatably and pass through a spindle nut 30. Both spindles 23are driven by the same spindle drive 27. The spindle nuts 30 are mountedrotatably fixed to the guidance element 9.

FIG. 3E shows a schematic view of a fifth embodiment of a radialguidance. The radial guidance comprises two spindles 23 which are eachmounted rotatably and pass through a spindle nut 30. Both spindles 23are driven by two different spindle drives 27. The spindle nuts 30 aremounted rotatably fixed to the guidance element 9.

FIG. 3F shows a schematic view of a sixth embodiment of a radialguidance. The radial guidance comprises two spindles 23 which aremounted rotatably fixed and each pass through a spindle nut 30. Thespindle nuts 30 are mounted rotatably to the guidance element 9. Thespindle nuts 30 are driven by a spindle nut drive 28.

FIG. 3G shows a schematic view of a seventh embodiment of a radialguidance. The radial guidance comprises two spindles 23 which aremounted rotatably fixed and each pass through a spindle nut 30. Thespindle nuts 30 are mounted rotatably to the guidance element 9. Thespindle nuts 30 each are driven by a spindle nut drive 28.

Thus, it will be seen that the improvements presented herein areconsistent with the objects of the invention described above. While theabove description contains many specificities, these should not beconstrued as limitations on the scope of the invention, but rather asexemplifications of preferred embodiments thereof. Many other variationsare within the scope of the present invention. Accordingly, it isintended that the scope of the invention is determined not by theembodiments illustrated or the physical analyses motivating theillustrated embodiments, but, rather, by the appended claims and theirlegal equivalents.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

-   -   longitudinal rod guidance arrangement 1    -   longitudinal rod clamping arrangement 2    -   cylindrical frame 3    -   longitudinal rod guidance arrangement drive 4    -   longitudinal rod clamping arrangement drive 5    -   axial guidance 6    -   rails 7    -   clamping arrangement carriage drive 8    -   guidance element 9    -   radial slit 10    -   bezel 11    -   welding arrangement 12    -   wire 13    -   wire guidance arrangement 14    -   welding electrode 15    -   counter welding electrode 16    -   welding arrangement drive 17    -   clamping arrangement carriage 18    -   welding arrangement carriage 19    -   transversal guidance 20    -   radial guidance 21    -   guidance tube 22    -   spindle 23    -   guidance column 24    -   slip ring 25    -   slip contact 26    -   spindle drive 27    -   spindle nut drive 28    -   gear 29    -   spindle nut 30    -   central spindle drive 31

What is claimed is:
 1. A device for producing reinforcement cagescomprising multiple longitudinal rods around which a wire, being weldedto the longitudinal rods, runs, the device including a longitudinal rodguidance arrangement having multiple guidance elements and multipleradial guidances, each of said multiple radial guidances guiding one ofsaid multiple guidance elements, each of said multiple radial guidancesincluding a spindle arrangement having at least one spindle, furtherincluding at least two guidance element drives, each of said at leasttwo guidance element drives being configured to move one of saidmultiple guidance elements independently along the associated one ofsaid multiple radial guidances, wherein said guidance element drives areimplemented as spindle drives, and wherein each spindle drive is anelectrical spindle drive, and a current supply for each spindle drivecomprises one or more slip rings.
 2. The device of claim 1 wherein eachof said spindle drives is provided at an outer end of an associated oneof said spindles.
 3. The device of claim 1 wherein each said spindlepasses through a spindle nut which is mounted rotationally fixed to anassociated one of said guidance elements.
 4. The device of claim 3wherein each said spindle nut is connected to an associated one of saidguidance elements via a rotational bearing, and for each of said spindlenuts a guidance element drive is implemented as an associated spindlenut drive so as to drive the associated spindle nut.
 5. The device ofclaim 4 wherein said spindles are rotationally supported, and a centralspindle drive is provided so as to synchronously drive the spindles. 6.The device of claim 1 wherein an additional spindle is provided for eachof said guidance elements.
 7. The device of claim 2 wherein anadditional spindle is provided for each of said guidance elements. 8.The device of claim 3 wherein an additional spindle is provided for eachof said guidance elements.
 9. The device of claim 4 wherein anadditional spindle is provided for each of said guidance elements. 10.The device of claim 6 wherein each of said additional spindles passesthrough an associated additional spindle nut which is mountedrotationally fixed to an associated one of said guidance elements. 11.The device of claim 7 wherein each of said additional spindles passesthrough an associated additional spindle nut which is mountedrotationally fixed to an associated one of said guidance elements. 12.The device of claim 8 wherein each of said additional spindles passesthrough an associated additional spindle nut which is mountedrotationally fixed to an associated one of said guidance elements. 13.The device of claim 9 wherein each of said additional spindles passesthrough an associated additional spindle nut which is mountedrotationally fixed to an associated one of said guidance elements. 14.The device of claim 10 wherein each of said additional spindles passesthrough an associated additional spindle nut which is mountedrotationally fixed to an associated one of said guidance elements. 15.The device of claim 11 wherein each of said additional spindles passesthrough an associated additional spindle nut which is mountedrotationally fixed to an associated one of said guidance elements. 16.The device of claim 4 wherein an additional spindle and an additionalspindle nut is provided for each of said guidance elements, each of saidadditional spindle nuts is connected to an associated one of saidguidance elements via an additional rotational bearing, and each of saidadditional spindle nuts is drivable by a spindle nut drive which isconfigured to additionally drive the associated one of said spindle nutsof the associated one of said guidance elements.
 17. The device of claim5 wherein an additional spindle and an additional spindle nut isprovided for each of said guidance elements, each of said additionalspindle nuts is connected to an associated one of said guidance elementsvia an additional rotational bearing, and each of said additionalspindle nuts is drivable by a spindle nut drive which is configured toadditionally drive the associated one of said spindle nuts of theassociated one of said guidance elements.
 18. A device for producingreinforcement cages having a longitudinal rod guidance arrangementaround which a wire, being welded to the longitudinal rods, runs,comprising: multiple guidance elements and multiple radial guidances,each of said multiple radial guidances guiding one of said multipleguidance elements, each of said radial guidances including a spindlearrangement having at least one spindle, and at least two guidanceelement drives being provided which are configured to move one of saidguidance elements independently along an associated one of said radialguidances.